I made my first "half sour" pickles! It was so easy, and I've already eaten them all and refilled the crock with more little cucumbers from the farmer's market. I used a lot of garlic, as you can see, and $2 worth of cucumbers.
My new favorite book (I'm infecting all of my foody friends with a love for this book too) is called "Wild Fermentation: The flavor, nutrition, and craft of live-culture foods" written by Sandor Ellix Katz. I used it to make sauerkraut last spring, and I used it again to make my pickles.
Basically, you add peeled garlic, peppercorns, dill (fresh or dried), and grape leaves (to keep the pickles crunchy with their tannins) to the crock, add the cucumbers, cover it all in salt water and set in a corner to ferment. Mine came out incredibly salty, but I think I'm going to leave them in the crock for much longer next time and see what happens.
I also made a gingerbread cake from this amazing book I got from the public library.
I put jelly in the middle, and I tried to make chocolate icing for the top, but it failed (it got all lumpy and I think it's because I didn't "cream" the butter. My arms got tired, what can I say?).
I decorated it with pomegranate seeds, which I'm overflowing with right now because there are a few unharvested trees over at the student farm on campus.
I'm making a coconut cake today and enjoying my weekly dose of NPR. This book has totally infected me with a love of cake baking; I picked up over $10 of used cake pans at the thrift store the other day. It may also be because I turn 25 tomorrow.
My new favorite book (I'm infecting all of my foody friends with a love for this book too) is called "Wild Fermentation: The flavor, nutrition, and craft of live-culture foods" written by Sandor Ellix Katz. I used it to make sauerkraut last spring, and I used it again to make my pickles.
Basically, you add peeled garlic, peppercorns, dill (fresh or dried), and grape leaves (to keep the pickles crunchy with their tannins) to the crock, add the cucumbers, cover it all in salt water and set in a corner to ferment. Mine came out incredibly salty, but I think I'm going to leave them in the crock for much longer next time and see what happens.
I also made a gingerbread cake from this amazing book I got from the public library.
I put jelly in the middle, and I tried to make chocolate icing for the top, but it failed (it got all lumpy and I think it's because I didn't "cream" the butter. My arms got tired, what can I say?).
I decorated it with pomegranate seeds, which I'm overflowing with right now because there are a few unharvested trees over at the student farm on campus.
I'm making a coconut cake today and enjoying my weekly dose of NPR. This book has totally infected me with a love of cake baking; I picked up over $10 of used cake pans at the thrift store the other day. It may also be because I turn 25 tomorrow.
2 comments:
OMG! I'm astounded you found Sandor's book too.
Seems like all the insider-est foodies have. I love it.
Go crazy.
Please send cake immediately.
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